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Downsizing The Federal Government – Farm Subsidies

Thursday,July20th,2017

Agricultural a/k/a farm subsidies, as with all social policies are often counterintuitive and even counter productive to a society. As an example, now sugar conglomerates dominate the U.S. and world sugar markets. As our children suffer from the ill-effects of too much sugar in their diets, as food processors try to entice and promote their products to our society, we are subsiding the sugar cane, beet and corn syrup growers.

Not only is sugar really not very good for our diet and health, both the pollution from manipulation of the water supply affecting the Florida Everglades and surrounding wetlands called Conservation Areas have become a political boondoggle in its own right with Big Sugar dominating the So. Florida Water Management District. My 83 year old buddy Salo, an avid air boater and 3rd generation West Palm Beacher tells me that between the Army Corp of Engineers, Big Sugar, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the SFWMD, the flora and fauna in the Everglades are nothing like they were just 50 or 60 years ago. We are also getting huge annual algae blooms on the river the runs through the center of the massive sugar cane fields from excessive fertilizers in the water. Although not horrible, the SFWMD manipulates the water levels of Lake Okeechobee to irrigate the fields located all around the lake. It does, however, have a profound effect on such animals as the whitetail deer and the Florida panther. High Fructose Corn Syrup is another high subsidized agricultural produce with adverse health effects.

Because Big Sugar in the U.S. can’t price compete in the world markets, we subsidize the major growers like U.S. Sugar and Crystal Sugar with billions of dollars annually. The Federal Government as the below articles indicates provides 8 difference subsidies to farmers. Big sugar is getting at least price subsidies and probably more. It’s just more corporate welfare at the taxpayer’s expense that we the people must stop because the politicians will not bite the hand that feeds them.

Sure the growers are going to moan and groan but the median house hold income of farmers is much higher than the average person today.

These are a couple of very informative article on agricultural subsidies.

In 2014 American Crystal Sugar Company donated to 221 members of Congress, 109 Democrats, and 92 Republicans. How about Bernie Sanders? After all he has railed against corporate corruption and many see him as a critic of corporate greed. Sanders supporters take note; he too takes Big Sugar’s money.

A new government report on human trafficking omits the names of companies accused of abusive labor practices. Some sleuthing uncovered the identity of two companies: both are U.S. defense contractors, and one has a particularly unsavory history.

Executive agencies regularly use their classification powers to avoid oversight or accountability for embarrassing or unlawful conduct. Congress needs to create enforceable protections against using the security clearance process for retaliation against whistleblowers and critics.

A new Federal Emergency Management Agency report describes many “lessons learned” from last summer’s major natural disasters. However, FEMA and the nation are not yet adequately prepared for the next one.

New data suggests that the Justice Department’s focus on misdemeanor prosecutions under “zero tolerance” has led to a dramatic decrease in prosecutions of serious crimes like drug trafficking and human smuggling.

New articles by Federal News Radio and Government Executive raise issues worthy of examination regarding the inspector general community, issues that are also addressed by POGO’s recent report on our nation’s federal watchdogs.

Nearly three months after the Trump administration’s family separation policy began and over one month after a public outcry led to its end, Congress finally held its first hearing on the subject on July 31. It was a necessary step, but not nearly enough.

The Pentagon is still suffering the consequences of hiring Efraim Diveroli, the Miami Beach military supplier whose exploits landed him in prison and inspired the film War Dogs. He recently won a long-running dispute with the government over canceled contracts to supply weapons to Iraqi security forces.

Members of Congress expressing disapproval of President Trump’s comments in Helsinki about Russian election interference can and should also conduct oversight of eight issue areas relating to foreign interference in our democratic systems.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lately seems to have softened its longstanding opposition to the False Claims Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal government’s most powerful tools for deterring corporate corruption and protecting taxpayer money.